Nov. 15, 2002

Final Stats

Lubbock, TX -

Life without Andre Emmett can be a pretty tricky thing.

As Texas Tech bear witness, when Emmett's not ready, the Red Raiders usually don't create, score and win as easily as they do when he's hit a groove.

That's why Pat Knight described Thursday night's exhibition game as a hidden blessing of sorts.

As Emmett sat on the bench with an ankle injury, Tech was forced to find other alternatives in a 91-86 win against Athletes First. Junior newcomer center Robert Tomaszek led Tech with 20 points, seven rebounds and no turnovers, one week after fouling out in five minutes in his Tech debut. All 11 active players scored for Tech in the Raiders' second and last exhibition game of the preseason.

"We didn't want Andre to be hurt, but I think it was good that the situation came up just for other guys to have to step up," said Pat Knight, Tech's assistant coach. "Andre is such a good player offensively, he's kind of a crutch for guys. They can kind of let up, stand and watch and think Andre is going to get it done for us. Tonight, some guys had to step up and contribute."

Tech contributed offensively with 23 assists and just six team turnovers. The offense helped make up for a lackluster defense in a game that stayed within nine points the whole way through. It wasn't until a key Tech steal in the final 18 seconds that the Raiders could breathe a sigh of relief against Athletes First, a team that featured several former college veterans, including former Tech forward Brodney Kennard.

With Tech holding an 89-84 lead, Tech sophomore guard Ronald Ross stole the ball from Athletes First points guard Lennox McCoy. The play happened near midcourt, where Ross took it from him and cruised to the hoop for an easy fast-break dunk with nine seconds remaining. The bucket gave Tech a 91-84 lead before two opponent free throws accounted for the game's final score.

"I think it could have been better," Tech forward Kasib Powell said. "We worked on a lot of stuff. We were better in some areas. Some areas we still have to work on, and we're just going to work this week because next week we've got the opener. There's no more scrimmages and exhibitions. We know what we have to do to work to be ready to for next week. Our defense, that's basically it."

Compared to last week's first-half debacle, Tech slightly improved offensively and defensively but still gave up 45 points on 17-of-36 shooting (47.2 percent) in the first half. Athletes First hit seven of its first eight shots before Tech buckled down enough to take the lead at halftime 47-45. Tech's last points of the half came after the Raiders worked for the last shot of the half, passed it around and found freshman Josh Washington underneath for the lay-up.

All 11 Tech players scored before halftime, including seven points each from Nick Valdez and Pawel Storozynski.

The Raiders also cut down on turnovers (only three before halftime) and fouls for Tomaszek, who committed just one in nine first-half minutes. Last week, he had four in three first-half minutes as Tech fell into a 50-41 deficit against EA Sports.

Tech opens the season Nov. 22 at home against North Carolina-Wilmington.

"Andre is definitely a big part of our team," Tech point guard Will Chavis said. "This just gave coach a chance to look at some other things."

Emmett, Tech's leading scorer, is expected to return for next week's opener.

He scored 26 points in last week's exhibition game before spraining his ankle in practice Monday.

bschrotenboer@lubbockonline.com 766-8733 Last modified at 12:38 a.m. on Friday, November 15, 2002 © 2002 - The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

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